RIVER INGOL WETLAND CREATIONA partnership to benefi t all

32

As it m

eanders through the beautifully scenic N

orth Norfolk landscape, the River Ingol m

ight only be 10.4 km

in length, but this belies its im

portance to the wider environm

ent.

The River Ingol is one of only 200 chalk rivers and stream

s in the w

orld, providing an extrem

ely rare habitat for a diverse group of plants and w

ildlife. Chalk rivers derive m

ost of their

– an area of international natural

it provides to migrating birds and

mouth of the River Ingol enters the

All of this makes the quality of w

ater

were show

ing that water quality in the

Ingol had deteriorated downstream

of the outlet from

the Anglian Water

Armed w

ith the data from the

water quality in the River Ingol.

Anglian Water explored a num

ber

or pumping the w

ater away for

treatrment elsew

here.

the water dow

nstream from

the Anglian W

ater site. When the

solution to improve w

ater quality

A true partnership

The project was entirely funded

by Anglian W

ater as part of their strategic com

mitm

ent to improve

water quality in affected rivers.

With extensive previous experience

in the creation of wetland projects,

land drainage and environmental

experts William

Morfoot partnered

with the N

orfolk Rivers Trust to deliver the project for A

nglian Water.

Following a full project-planning

process, involving not only Anglian

Water, N

orfolk Rivers Trust and W

illiam M

orfoot, but also local landow

ner James W

ilson, the project began in the autum

n of 2017 and w

as completed in spring 2018.

Trust to assess the feasibility and

Following a full assessm

ent of the

delivering the required improvem

ents

The quality of water

is of prime

THE RIVER IN

GO

L –

Revitalising water quality

54 and im

prove water quality is not new

innovative solution to the problems

Wetlands are used all over the w

orld as a natural w

ay of treating and

Morfoot has been involved in land

UK for over 50 years.

the undesirable elements w

ithin the

–

which are essentially ponds.

– carefully selected by N

orfolk Rivers Trust – which

grow w

ithin the wetland.

– these include iris, sedges, rushes, m

arsh m

arigold and watercress.

– via a new

ly installed pipe, connecting the treatm

ent plant directly to the w

etland.

each cell in turn.

by the plants, w

hich remove

undesirable properties – in this case, phosphate and am

monia –

through each cell. By the tim

e the water exits

– it can

into the River Ingol.

– the area being low lying and w

et already, and set in a valley bottom

, making it unsuitable

for arable crop production. The woodland present on

the proposed site had also been badly affected by ash dieback fungal disease, and m

any of the remaining trees

within it w

ere infected.

Wetland C

REATION

A natural solution to an unnatural problem

76 D

elivering TH

E PROJECT

Getting the tim

ing right in challenging conditions

Although funded by Anglian Water

timetable – to ensure that the required

plants to be in the wetland in tim

e to thrive in the spring.

deliver the solution:

Specialist plant and machinery

required, including the use of ultra- low

ground pressure equipment,

designed for use on saturated land.

An experienced, highly-skilled

team w

orked in waterlogged conditions

where the cells w

ere to be built.

variable soil types m

ade for challenging w

orking conditions.

William

Morfoot’s G

PS surveying equipm

ent and specialist wetland

software w

as used to survey and adjust the design of the site, as it took shape and developed.

The project was delivered in four

distinct, but connected phases:

Phase 1 – Site/tree clearance

Despite the ravages of ash

dieback

Trees needed to be felled and transported out from

within the

wetland site – no easy task given the

nature of the saturated soils at that tim

e of year!

Phase 2 – River diversion

In order to ensure that the

project delivered

The new line of the river w

as positioned aw

ay from the site of the

new w

etland – providing segregation

lower quality w

ater entering the wetland.

The William

Morfoot Team

then

habitat available to wildlife w

ho would

make this their hom

e.

Phase 3 – Cell creation

The creation of the four cells was

within the proposed areas w

here the

This mam

moth digging exercise

GPS technology w

as used

The edges of each cell were

carefully created with gradually

and other wildlife to live and thrive.

Phase 4 – Pipework

connection

saw

the

the water supply from

the Anglian

River Ingol wetland.

A new

spillway w

as also installed

erosion to the banks and to disperse

This feed had to be installed over the top of the River Ingol.

Each cell was then

interconnected by large diameter

Phase 1

Phase 2

Phase 3

Phase 4

98

FOR A

LLCom

munity experience and opportunity

A real-life exam

ple of how

All stakeholders in this innovative

project are keen that it should not

but that it also provides a wider

area. The footpath provides an ideal

example of how

developing new

water m

anagement and deliver a high

to plant the wetland w

ith the new

wetland plants.

to the site – to learn more about w

hat is being done.

that the site should be utilised as a

method of im

proving water for use in

1110

Improving

WATER Q

UA

LITY ‘‘Partnership and com

mitm

ent

‘‘ Without the cooperation,

understanding and pragmatic approach

of the Environment Agency,

we would never have been able to com

plete this groundbreaking system.

The Environment A

gency’s role

stakeholders to return water quality

Steve Hopper, Environm

ent Planning Specialist at the Environm

ent A

gency, elaborates: deliver the River Ingol W

etland as a

thinking around environmental

improvem

ent and the framew

orks for

, let alone planned, funded, comm

issioned and delivered, is a testam

ent to the comm

itment that all parties m

ade wholeheartedly to the project.

alternative solution that w

ill

many of us have been aspiring to

deliver for some tim

e. “I hope that all the w

ork we have done

demonstrate the w

ider environmental

Anglian W

ater is comm

itted to im

proving water quality

throughout its operating network.

solution for its site – provided by the

Regan Harris, from

Anglian W

ater plc, com

ments: “This is a really

in England. Wetland treatm

ent sites

water to the sam

e high standards

well as from

human and anim

al waste.

treat them rather than adding m

ore

the wetland is a great solution.

are sustainable for future generations ‘‘

‘‘ We want this type

of scheme to becom

e m

ore comm

onplace as a water treatm

ent option in the future.

1312

RIVERS TRUST

Aquatic conservation and restoration

The Norfolk Rivers Trust (N

RT)

quality of water provides the best

wildlife that live w

ithin and around it.

with a w

ide range of government

The NRT are involved in the

managem

ent and improvem

ent of river system

s and watercourses

throughout Norfolk.

Previous projects have involved reviving choked and forgotten river system

s, as well as revitalising

highly important chalk rivers and

streams, such as the River Ingol.

The River Ingol Wetland

Project presented the NRT w

ith a great opportunity to utilise its vast know

ledge and expertise in w

atercourse managem

ent and river conservation.

From the N

RT’s perspective,

project particularly stand out:

1. of w

ater exiting the Anglian Water

2.

David D

iggens, CEO of N

orfolk Rivers Trust, com

mented: “W

e are delighted w

ith the delivery and

this pioneering innovative nature

“We have already w

itnessed the

that water quality im

provements

‘‘

‘‘ Th ese wetlands give us a fantastic opportunity to research many

aspects of water, soil and environmental change aff ecting our use

of water and river ecosystems.

1514 Chem

icals such as phosphates and am

monia com

e from rising

urbanisation

from hum

an and animal w

aste – and are tw

o of the most detrim

ental

sedges and other planting solutions

use at many sites around the globe.

Rivers Trust to grow in the w

etland

removing am

monia and phosphates

The SCIEN

CEA natural solution

it was

the Environment A

gency, w

hich revealed the rising levels of harm

ful properties in the w

ater downstream

of the A

nglian Water

recycling site, that brought about its creation.

having the added advantage of

tough standards for the quality of the

water being returned to the River Ingol;

in addition to a phosphorus limit of 4.5

milligram

s per litre. Early signs are that these standards are m

ore than being m

et by the new River Ingol W

etland.

Enthusiasm for the developm

ent of nature and biodiversity alongside the

Trust turned into a reality.very high standard.

‘‘

‘‘ I feel that this plot of land is m

aking a highly positive contribution to addressing som

e of today’s environm

ental diffi culties.

(River Ingol Wetland site)

James W

ilson is the owner of the

land at Ingoldisthorpethe new

wetland site has been built.

within the w

etland site – meaning that

was inevitable.

Asset enhancement through nature

PERSPECTIVE

1716 The sounds of a diverse array of

birds now greet visitors arriving

at the site at any time of the day.

quickly; encouraging birds and local w

ildlife to start feeding in the shallow

waters from

day one.

Biodiversity at its best

Just weeks after the

completion, the plants

have already taken great steps forw

ards in grow

th – basking in the sunshine and w

arm spring

temperatures. Insects and

other invertebrates are buzzing all around the cell perim

eters and within the

ponds too, on the fast-grow

ing plants and reeds.

The newly-cut river

channelcrystal clear w

aters, and the new

river banks are steadily developing new

life thanks to the clever planting w

ork carried out by the N

orfolk Rivers Trust.

constantly from the

Anglian W

ater recycling facility and through the four cells – w

ith the water

quality already being recorded as being of vastly im

proved quality.

There have been a number

to

interest from other w

ater authorities and like-m

inded organisations looking to replicate this kind of project w

ithin their own areas.

The site has been transform

ed from a

dying woodland into

something w

hich is unquestionably beautiful, fully com

plimenting the

stunning countryside of w

hich it is now part.

The breathtaking views

around the site have been enjoyed by scores of schoolchildren, students and m

embers of the public

who have an interest in the

natural world.

RESULTS

1918 Perhaps the greatest legacy of the River Ingol W

etland Project is that its

examples in the U

K of how w

ater

use of a natural wetland.

population growth m

eans that there

the UK. A num

ber of other similar sites

elsewhere in the U

K.

aware of the need for environm

ental

greater understanding about the need

is, literally, living proof that private, public and third sector organisations can collaborate successfully for the

in this case:

– Privately-owned utility com

pany

– Charitable N

GO

– Governm

ent agency

– Privately-ow

ned land drainage and w

etland specialist

In addition, the River Ingol Wetland

Project collaboration involved

– Local comm

unity

– Local landow

ner

to provide habitats to support rare and

regarded as being of international

What is unquestionable is that the

River Ingol wetland has surpassed

expectations in terms of w

ater quality and, crucially, has delivered a spectacular natural environm

ent in w

hich wildlife can thrive – one that

future generations can continue to enjoy for m

any years to come.

A beacon for others LEG

ACY

Get in TOUCH…

Norfolk Rivers Trust

+44 (0)1263 711299norfolkriverstrust.org

William Morfoot Ltd

+44 (0)1362 820371williammorfoot.co.uk

Anglian Water plc

+44 (0)3457 91 91 55anglianwater.co.uk